Labour is urging ministers to delay signing a new West Coast Mainline contract until Parliament returns

"The party says MPs must have the chance to consider the decision to take the franchise from Virgin Trains and give it to FirstGroup for the next 13 years… The Department for Transport said it had "no reason" to delay the signing." – BBC

The Conservative MP for Morecambe and Lunesdale, David Morris issued this statement overnight: “Since the Government announced that Virgin was not the successful bidder for the Inter City West Coast Mainline, I have received a huge number of correspondences from constituents. The general feeling is that my constituents are happy with the service Virgin Trains provides and it is for me as their MP to reflect that view which is why I have written to the Government to express that opinion.”

Ed Miliband yesterday came under pressure from Alistair Darling to support a third runway at Heathrow – Telegraph

Jackie Ashley in The Guardian on airport capacity: "We are now at the point when it's more important to take a decision – any decision – than to carry on mumbling… I may not agree with Jo Valentine, the chief executive of business group London First, who argued on Sunday that expansion at Heathrow was the right answer. But she is certainly right when she says: "The time for ministers to prevaricate is long past.""

Daily Mail leader: "Despite pledging to ‘take an axe’ to the bloated state sector, and light a ‘bonfire of the quangos’, the Government has barely made a dent in public spending. Almost halfway through its term, it has met a pathetic 6 per cent of its reduction targets for this Parliament… Instead of spending precious resources on job-creating infrastructure projects, youth employment initiatives, or cutting payroll taxes, we still pour unconscionable billions into maintaining the behemoth of state bureaucracy."

An analysis by Morgan Stanley has found that the average family will have £50 less disposable income in real terms this year and £200 next year as the cost of essentials rises sharply – Telegraph

No defence for printing Prince Harry photos, says Jeremy Hunt

"I cannot see what the public interest was in publishing those," Mr Hunt told the BBC yesterday. "But we have a free press and I don't think it is right for politicians to tell newspaper editors what they can and cannot publish. That must be a matter for the newspaper editors." – Quoted by The Independent

Trevor Kavanagh in The Sun: "The national interest includes definable rights and responsibilities, like defence of the realm, democracy, a sound economy — and the inalienable right of a free people to know what is being done in their name. The Harry pictures, by themselves, may be of no great lasting importance. But the right to publish them, once they are in the public domain, is of huge and enduring significance."

A major crackdown on illegal immigrants is to be launched by the Government – Express

The Campaign to Protect Rural England has claimed countryside around English towns and cities is threatened by bids to build about 81,000 homes" – BBC

"Treasury sources argue that the 1.6 million hectares of green-belt land — generally on the outskirts of urban areas — cover 3 per cent of England and could be tapped into. They are backed by groups such as the Institute of Economic Affairs. The free-market think-tank said: “Only one-twentieth of England is built on. There is an abundance of green space, yet housing is hugely unaffordable.”" – Times (£)

Damian Green: We must pass 'Danny Boyle test’

"In an article for today’s Daily Telegraph,
the minister said: “To succeed, the Conservative Party must be at home
in modern Britain. Much in this country needs changing and improving but
we should not become nostalgists promoting a better yesterday."

"Let’s see the best of Mr Cameron in the next few months. Let’s see him out in the country, in the regions, in hostile meetings with voters explaining what he’s doing. Let’s see him with commuters, explaining why rail fares must rise so we can have a railway system fit for the next century. Let’s watch him in a village hall in leafy Buckinghamshire, blighted by the high-speed rail link, explaining why it is essential for reconnecting North and South… Each meeting will be tough. There will be very awkward moments. But if he sticks at it, his image will evolve. He’ll no longer be a PR man, at the mercy of events… He’ll get to that place, prized by every politician, where voters who disagree with their views can still respect them." – Tim Montgomerie in The Times (£)

Paralympians have more of the Right Stuff than anyone on Earth – Boris Johnson in The Telegraph

"David Laws' use of his expense to avoid his apparent embarrassment about his homosexuality put at risk both this government's attempt to move on from the sleaze of the past and the progress our society has made on gay rights. Returning him to the Cabinet might be the practical thing to do, but for many gay people such as myself it will nonetheless leave a bad taste in the mouth." – Max Wind-Cowie for the Huffington Post

Peter Hain says Labour should get ready to do business with Lib Dems

"Labour should prepare for coalition with the Lib Dems because it will struggle to win an outright majority at the next election, Peter Hain, the former cabinet minister, has said. In the paperback edition of his memoirs, which is being published on Tuesday, he said that voters were becoming increasingly "promiscuous" and that in the future single-party government could become "the exception rather than the norm"." – Guardian

Teachers howling with anguish over GCSE grades are betraying every pupil of the future – Max Hastings in the Daily Mail

"Private schooling is now beyond average earners in well-paid occupations, including pharmacists, architects, IT experts, engineers and scientists" – Daily Mail

Same-sex marriage would enrich an historic institution. Those who try to oppose it are out of step with public opinion and simple fairness – Times leader (£)

"Catholic worshippers heard criticism of the Scottish Government’s gay marriage plans at Sunday services yesterday as a letter from leading bishops was read aloud in churches. The letter, which was read in all of Scotland’s 500 Catholic parishes, urged followers to continue to act against efforts to “redefine” marriage." – Scotsman

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